Jerusalem was completely destroyed by the Romans in the summer of 70 AD. Its inhabitants were either killed or sold into slavery. The vanquished Judea became a province of the Roman empire. The Byzantine historian of the 5th c. AD, Sozomen of Gaza, connects the renaming of Emmaus to Nicopolis (“City of Victory”), with the fall of Jerusalem:

"The name of Nicopolis was given to this place by the Romans after the conquest of Jerusalem and the victory over the Jews."

(Sozomen, "Ecclesiastical History", Book V, ch. 21, PG LXVII, 180). With this text in mind, some authors of the 20th century following F. de Saulcy, "Numismatique de la Terre Sainte", Paris, 1874 (see here), p.172-175, attributed Roman coins of the 1st and 2nd c. AD bearing the minting "Nicopolis" to Emmaus-Nicopolis.

A coin mintedat Nicopolisunder Marcus Aurelius (161-180)

These coins, however, may have been minted at Nicopolis of the Lesser Armenia (in Asia Minor). Most Byzantine authors date the renaming of Emmaus into “Nicopolis” by the 3rd c. AD (see below). (See: Vincent & Abel, "Emmaus", Paris, 1932, p.322-323).

A fragment of Ptolemy's map (2nd c. AD), where Emmaus is shown under the name of Emmaunta

A fragment of the Peutinger Table, a map from the 2nd c. AD, where Emmaus appears under the name Amauante.

Acollection of the Jewish comments for the Law "Mekhilta de Rabbi Ishmael" (Mekhilta for the Book of Exodus), tractate Bahodesh A, describe the hard situation of the Jewish people after the destruction of Jerusalem and its Temple by the Romans:

"Once Rabbi Johanan ben Zakkai was going up to Emmaus in Judea(depending from manuscripts: מאוס, מעון יהודה, מעים)and he saw a girl who was picking barleycorn out of the excrements of a horse. Said R. Johanan ben Zakkai to his disciples: 'What is this girl?' They said to him: 'She is a Jewish girl.' 'And to whom does this horse belong?' 'To an Arabian horseman,' the disciples answered him. Then said R. Johanan b. Zakkai to his disciples: 'All my life I have been reading this verse and I have not realized its full meaning: 'If thou know not, O thou fairest among women,' etc.(Song of Songs 1:8)- you were unwilling to be subject to God, behold now you are subjected to the most inferior of the nations... You were unwilling to pay the head-tax to God, 'a beka a head'(Ex. 38:26); now you are paying a head-tax of fifteen shekels under a government of your enemies. You were unwilling to repair the roads and streets leading up to the Temple; now you have to keep in repair the posts and stations on the road to the royal cities...'"( Mechilta d’Rabbi Ismael, H. S. Horovitz, ed., Jerusalem, 1970, p. 203)

Following the destruction of the JerusalemTemple, Rabbi Johanan ben Zakkai gathered his disciples in Yavne, where he founded an Academy whose purpose was to enable Judaism to persist in these new circumstances. Rabbi Johanan ben Zakkai finished his life in the village of Berur Hail ca. 72 AD . The Jewish tradition has preserved the following story:

"RabbiJohanan ben Zakkai had five disciples, and as long as he lived they sat before him. When he died, they went to Yavne. R. Eleazar ben Arach, however, joined his wife at Emmaus(אמאוס), a place of good water and beautiful aspect. He waited for them to come to him, but they did not come. As they failed to do so, he wanted to go to them, but his wife did not let him. She said, 'Who needs whom?' He answered, 'They need me.' She said to him, ' In the case of a vessel [containing food] and mice, which goes to which? Do the mice go to the vessel or does the vessel come to the mice?' He listened to her and remained there until he forgot his learning… "(Midrash Rabbah for Ecclesiastes 7: 15; Strack & Billerbeck, “Kommentar zum Neuen Testament aus Talmud und Midrasch”, München, 1924, 1989, v. II, p. 270)

The same story is mentioned in the collection of Jewish legends, "Avot de Rabbi Nathan" (B), ch. 29:

"Why did he (rabbi Eleazar ben Arach) not attain fame for learning? Because when they left Jerusalem, (each of) them said: 'Where shall I go?' Now he said: 'Let us go to Emmaus(מאוס),a beautiful town whose waters are sweet'. His name did not become famous for learning. But those who said: 'Let us go to Jamnia, a place where people love the Torah, a place where scholars are numerous, attained fame for learning'".(«Avot de-Rabbi Nathan B», A. Saladrini, trans., Leiden, 1975, p.167-168;"ספר הישוב" ירושלים, תרצ"ט, v.1, p.5)

Due to the presence of a Roman garrison at the end 1 c. AD at Emmaus, the first Roman baths were built here, probably, in the same period. In a parallel version (Version A) of the text mentioned above, "Avot de Rabbi Nathan", version B, ch. 29, instead of the word "Emmaus" appears "demosit", which in Greek means "public baths."

Roman bathhouse at Emmaus (3d c. AD)

(The location of Emmaus of Rabbi Eleazar ben Arach is subject to debate, some believe that this was the place of the hot springs near Tiberias, on the shore of the sea of Kinnereth in Galilee, also known as Hammat and Emmaus in the ancient Jewish literature, see Vincent & Abel, op. cit. p.280-284).

The event mentioned in the Mishnah, tractate “Keritot”, 3.7 also belongs to the end of the 1st century:

"RabbiAkiba said: 'I asked Rabban Gamaliel and R. Joshua in the market of Emmaus (אמאוס, in the parallel texts in Talmud, depending on manuscripts:,אימאום ,עימאוס ,מימוס ,אימאוס ,אימעום ,מעאוס ,אימוס עימאום,עימעיס ,עימאום) where they went to buy a beast for the wedding-feast of the son of Rabban Gamaliel…'"(Vincent & Abel, op. cit., p. 408;"ספר הישוב",op. cit., p.5)

RabbiAkiba

The references to Emmaus in the rabbinic litterature show that the Jewish tradition knows only one place with such a name in Judea throughout the history.

In 132-135 AD under the Emperor Hadrian, a new Jewish revolt broke out against the Romans (led by Bar Kochba) as a result of the prohibition of circumcision and of the construction of a pagan city of Aelia Capitolina on the site of Jerusalem.

Hadrian→

During this uprising, Emmaus became a centre of Jewish resistance to the occupation. At Al-Aqed hill (in the “Canada” park, near Emmaus), arrowheads belonging to the Jewish rebels were found in a system of caves and grottoes.

Ventilation hole belonging to the system of grottos at Al-Aqed hill

("Canada park")

The following text from the “Midrash Rabbah” for the book of "Lamentations" (1, 45) speaks of the extermination of the Jewish population in the area of Emmaus after the suppression of the Bar-Kochba revolt:

"Hadrian the accursed set up three garrisons, one in Hamta(חמתא),a second in Kefar Lekatia, and the third in Bethlehem of Judea. He said, 'Whoever attempts to escape from one of them will be captured in another and vice versa'..." ("ספר הישוב" op. cit., p. 47). (We can see from this text, that among Jews, Emmaus continued to bear its non-hellenized name, "Hamta", "hot spring", see also Midrash "Zuta" Song of Songs at 6, 8, (see above, theOld Testament period).

The fact of the presence of a Roman military garrison at Emmaus in 132-135 AD is confirmed by a stone that was found with the inscription: "Cohors VI Ulpia Petraeorum", "Sixth Ulpian Cohort of Petrians" (in the collection of the Latrun Monastery). About this inscription, see: Vincent & Abel, op. cit., p.324-325, 427; Abel, RB 1924, "Amouas".

From the point of view of archaeology, the Jewish village of Emmaus is represented by numerous tombs discovered in the area, in form of grottoes with niches for corpses ("kukhim"), carved in the rock. The entrances to the tombs used to be closed with big round stones. Inside the tombs stone ossuaries and funerary urns were discovered. According to the Jewish tradition which existed in 1st c. BC-1st c. AD, after a year from the date of death, the bones were placed in these urns in anticipation of the resurrection of the deceased. Sometimes these ossuaries were decorated with carvings. For example: a large ossuary, which is found in the collection of Latrun Monastery, is decorated with two palm trees, symbols of eternal life.

For all the mentions of Emmaus in the ancient rabbinic literature see:

After the suppression of the uprising of 135 AD, The Samaritans and the Romans settled in Emmaus. Concerning the archaeological and written testimonies about the Samaritan presence at Emmaus during the Roman and Byzantine periods, see theByzantine period.

In 220-230 AD a Christian of Roman origin, a scientist, writer and former officer of the Roman army, Julius Africanus, lived and worked at Emmaus. Apparently, Julius Africanus was not an isolated Christian, a Christian community existed already at Emmaus.

← Julius Africanus

According to the Byzantine historians, Julius Africanus led a
delegation of Emmaus residents to the Roman emperor Elagabalus asking him to
assign to this village a status of the city ("polis"). The request was granted,
and Emmaus was renamed into "Nicopolis" - "City of Victory":

←Elagabalus "In Palestine Nicopolis,
which previously used to be called Emmaus, was founded as a city, the labour of
the embassy on its behalf being undertaken by Julius Africanus, the writer of
the 'Chronicle'."(Eusebius of Caesarea, "Chronicle", 250th Olympiad (events of 221 AD), the
text of 325 AD; Vincent & Abel, op. cit., p. 411)

"Julius
Africanus, whose five volumes On Chronology are yet extant, in the reign of
Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (Elagabalus), who succeeded Macrinus, received a
commission to restore the city of Emmaus,
which afterwards was called Nicopolis…" (St. Jerome,
"De Viris Illustribus", ch. 63, the text of 393 AD; PL XXIII, 673)

"In
his letter to Aristide, Africanus wrote splendidly about the apparent
discrepancy in the genealogy because of the generations which are found in the
evangelists Matthew and Luke. Africanus was from Emmaus, a village of Palestine,
toward which Cleopas and his companion went and which, afterwards, having
received the right of being a city at the time of Africanus’ deputation, took
the name Nicopolis." (Philip
of Side, text of 430 AD; Vincent & Abel, op. cit., p.413 ) Julius Africanus restored and decorated the town, the first church was built
here probably at this time. According to later sources, Julius Africanus was
the governor or even the bishop of Emmaus: "Nicopolis, formerly
Emmaus, was elevated to the rank of city, following the deputation in this
regard by her governor, Julius Africanus, who wrote the Chronicles."("Chronicon Pascale", 223d Olympiad, a
7th c. Byzantine Chronicle; PG XCII, 657)

"Africanus
the Happy, Bishop of Emmaus, wrote a Commentary on the New Testament and a
Chronicon." (Abd
Yeshua, Metropolitan of Nisibis and Armenia, “Index of Biblical and
Ecclesiastical Writings”, Part 3, the text of 1298 AD; taken from the
internet)

In
the area of Emmaus rich archaeological evidence of the Roman city of Nicopolis has been found.
At a small distance to the north of the Byzantine basilica a building of the
Roman thermae, dating from the 3d c. AD, was excavated in 1978 by the
archaeologists of the Tel-AvivUniversity ( See: M.
Gichon, "Roman Bath-houses in Erez-Israel", Qadmoniot 11, 1978, p.
37-53). In the area of the Byzantine church and nearby, in the "Canada"
park, numerous tombs and oil and wine presses from the Roman period have been
discovered. In 1975, at "Canada"
park there was found the water supply system of Nicopolis, including two
aqueducts of the 3-5th c. AD ( See Y. Hirschfeld, "A Hydraulic Installation in
the Water-Supply System of Emmaus-Nicopolis", IEJ 1978, p. 86-92).

Roman tomb at Emmaus (“Canada” park)

Roman-Byzantine Aqueduct at Emmaus (“Canada” park)

An inscription found at Emmaus, mentioning the name of the Emperor
Elagabalus preserved at Latrun Monastery can be dated with the 3d c. AD (see:
Vincent & Abel, op. cit., p.p.258 and 429, drawing 109).

The fact that Nicopolis from the most ancient times was venerated
by Christians as the New Testament Emmaus is confirmed by high quality ancient
manuscripts of the Gospel of Luke, indicating the distance of about one hundred
sixty stadia (30 km) between Emmaus and Jerusalem (see the early Roman period and question 2).

Another important indication of the ancient veneration of
Emmaus-Nicopolis as the New Testament Emmaus is the "Onomasticon" of Eusebius, the Bishop of Caesarea, a true geographical dictionary of the Bible,
written between 295-325 AD (about dating of "Onomasticon" see T. D. Barnes,
"The Composition of Eusebius’ Onomasticon", JThS 26 (1975), p.412-415; G. S. P. Freeman-Grenville, "Foreword" to "The Onomasticon", published by "Carta",
Jerusalem, 2003).

Eusebius→

Here
is what the "Onomasticon" says about Emmaus (90:15-17): "Emmaus, whence came
Kleopas in Luke’s Gospel. The same is now Nikopolis, a famous city of Palestine"

Speaking
of other towns and villages of the Holy Land,
Eusebius indicates their location relatively to Nicopolis, so there is left no
doubt about the position of Emmaus:
"Ailōn (Joshua 19,
43). A city of the lot
of Dan, set aside for Levites. The village is Alous near Nikopolis…
Bethoron(Joshua 10,
10). Thither Joshua
pursued the kings. It fell to the sons of Joseph, that is Ephraim. And there
are two villages about twelve miles from Jerusalem
on the road to Nikopolis. One is called Upper Bet-Horon, where Solomon lived,
which is set aside for Levites…
Beroth(Joshua 9, 17;
18, 25). Below Gabaon.
It is now a village near Aelia 7 milestones away on the way to Nicopolis…
Bethsames(Judges 1:33). A priestly city
of the tribe of Benjamin, and even now it is ten milestones from
Eleutheropolis eastwards to Nikopolis…
Gazer(Joshua 10, 33). The lot of Ephraim, set aside for
Levites. And Joshua besieged it, killing its king. Solomon also built here. It
is now called Gazara, a village
of Nikopolis four
milestones from it in the north…
Esthaol(Joshua 19,
41). The lot of Dan,
where Samson died. Even now it is ten milestones from Eleutheropolis northwards
on the way to Nikopolis…
Saraa(Joshua, 15,
33). A village within
the borders of Eleutheropolis towards the north, about ten milestones away on
the way to Nikopolis…" ("Onomasticon"
by Eusebius of Caesarea, G. S. P. Freeman-Grenville, trans., Jerusalem, 2003 , see also: Vincent &
Abel, op. cit. p. 412. See also: Questions about Emmaus, # 6)